Mahabaleshwar Sail (born 4 August 1943) is an Indian author. He has been honoured with the

Saraswati Samman The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 22 languages of India listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. The Saras ...

, 2016 for his novel 'Hawthan' (हावटण).

Life

Mahabaleshwar Sail was born on 4 August 1943 in Shejebag,

Majali, Karnataka Majali is a hamlet in the Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, India. It is situated in a coastal region called Kanara at the Goa-Karnataka border. The language spoken there are Konkani and Kannada. The village is a tourist destination for t ...

village of

Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Uttara Kannada District is a major coastal district of Karnataka, and currently holding the title of the largest district in Karnataka. It is bordered by the state of Goa and Bela ...

district of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He was born in a family of agriculturalists. Sail's father was in the Army. Due to his father's demise, Sail had to leave schooling during his childhood and engage in agriculture. He started school at the age of six and dropped out in the eighth standard. Subsequently, he enrolled himself in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. Sail also participated in the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

and was stationed at the

Hussainiwala Hussainiwala is a village near Firozpur city in Firozpur district in Punjab state, India. It lies near the bank of the Sutlej river. The village is on the border with Pakistan, opposite the Pakistani village of Ganda Singh Wala. It is a border ...

border. He also served as a United Nations peacekeeper between 1964–1965 at the border between

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. Sail has worked as a supervisor in the Forest Department. He was also in the Goa, Daman and Diu Police. Sail worked in

India Post India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ha ...

till his retirement.

Literature

Sail initially wrote in

Marathi language Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state o ...

but later started writing in

Konkani language Konkani () is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Konkani people, primarily in the Konkan region, along the western coast of India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the Indian Constitution, and the official language of ...

too. His first story appeared in

Pralhad Keshav Atre Prahlad Keshav Atre () (13 August 1898 – 13 June 1969), popularly known as Āchārya Atre, was a prominent Marathi writer, poet, educationist, founder–editor of ''Maratha'' (a Marathi language newspaper), and above all, a noted orator. Bio ...

's ''Sāptāhik Navyug '' weekly. The first story which he was during a lull in the battle after the

Tashkent Declaration The Tashkent Declaration was signed between India and Pakistan on 10 January 1966 to resolve the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. Peace was achieved on 23 September through interventions by the Soviet Union and the United States, both of which push ...

. Sail has written stories, novels and children's literature in

. He has authored novels, stories and plays in

. His first Konkani novel was ''Kaali Ganga ''(काळी गंगा) in 1996. It dealt with the lives of the farming communities on the banks of the

Kali River (Karnataka) The Kali River or Kaali Nadi is a river flowing through Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state in India. The river rises near Kushavali, a small village in Uttar Kannada district. The river is the lifeline to some 400,000 people in the U ...

Karwar Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India. Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...

. Sail received the

Sahitya Akadami Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for his short story collection ''Taranga''(तरंगा) in 1993. He has authored two novellas, ''Adrusht''(अदृष्ट) and ''Aranyakand''(अरण्यकांड) in

. ''Adrusht''(अदृष्ट) was adapted in the form of the critically acclaimed

film

Paltadacho Munis ''Paltadacho Munis'' or ''The Man Beyond the Bridge'' is an Indian film in Konkani directed by Laxmikant Shetgaonkar. Set in Goa, the film is about a recently widowed forest ranger in a dwindling forest, who strikes up an unlikely relationship ...

. Sail's Konkani shorty story collections are ''Padtadche Taru''(पलतडचे तारू), 'Taranga''(तरंगा), ''Baynet Fighting''(बायनेट फायटिंग), ''Nimano Ashwathama''(निमाणो अश्वत्थामा) and ''Don Moolanche Zhaad''(दोन मुळांचें झाड). His novels in

are 'Kaali Ganga''(काळी गंगा), ''Adrusht''(अदृष्ट), ''Aranyakand''(अरण्यकांड), ''Yug Sanvar''(युगसांवार), ''Khol Khol Moolam''(खोल खोल मुळा), ''Vikhar Vilkho''(विखार विळखो) and ''Maati and Malab''(माती आनी मळब). He has to his credit a children's novel named ''Saim Dev''(सैम देव). His novels in

are ''Taandav''(तांडव) and ''Band Darvaja''(बंद दरवाजा). Sail has also scripted plays in

such as ''Nako Jalu Maza Gharta''(नको जाळू माझं घरटं), ''Charitryaheen''(चारित्र्याहीन), ''Sharanaagati''(शरणागती) and ''Yaatna Chakra''(यातना चक्र).

Critical reception

Sail's writing is characterised by research on the topic and the use of

words from

region. His novels are characterized by the use of strong female heroines and an excellent depiction of the characters. Sail's ''Yug Sanvar''(युगसांवार) in

and ''Taandav''(तांडव) in

are based on the

Goa Inquisition The Goa Inquisition ( pt, Inquisição de Goa) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic Orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of Rome (Pontifex). The inquisition primaril ...

. Both the novels were widely discussed and an English translation by Vidya Pai entitled ''Age of Frenzy'' was released by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

India. His novel ''Vikhar Vilkho''(विखार विळखो) is based on the issue of narcotics. ''Hawthan''(हावटण) is based on the challenged faced by the traditional potters due to the diminishing demand for their wares. Sail's writing have been honoured with various awards including the prestigious

, 2016.

Awards and honours

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

* Dr. T.M.A. Pai Award (1997) * Goa

Kala Academy Kala Academy (Academy of the Arts) is a prominent cultural centre run by the Government of Goa, in Goa, India. Situated at Campal, Panjim, it is registered as a society, and was started in February 1970. The building was designed by Charles Co ...

Award (1989 and 1996) * Cultural Award by the

Government of Goa The Government of Goa is a state government created by the Constitution of India and has executive, legislative and judicial authority of the state of Goa. It is headquartered in Panaji, the capital city of Goa. History The governor's role is ...

(2006) * Katha Award (2007) * Literary Award by the

(2007) * Vimla V. Pai Vishwa Konkani Sahitya Puraskar (2010) *

(2016) In addition, Sail has been a member of various government and literary organisations like the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

, Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Akademi and the Goa

. He was the President of the All India Konkani Parishad in 2005.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sail, Mahabaleshwar 1943 births Living people Recipients of the Saraswati Samman Award Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Konkani 20th-century Indian poets Konkani-language writers Marathi-language writers Poets from Karnataka People from Uttara Kannada